October was the month when it was hoped United would mirror the ‘give up smoking’ Stoptober campaign and in football terms catch light.

Instead the Reds only ended up with their fingers burned in London as Arsenal caught fire.

It was marked down as a critical month for Louis van Gaal’s prospect’s of winning the title as his side hit the summit of the Premier League on the eve of such a testing four weeks in the league with Everton at Goodison, the Manchester derby at Old Trafford and a return to the capital to round it off against Crystal Palace after this visit to London.

As a first question on that exam paper the Reds flunked it badly at the Emirates.

Possession football we have come to be brain-washed under LVG is about a slow, methodical build up searching patiently for cracks in the opponent’s defence.

Not the Arsenal way though. United barely had the ball in their control in the opening ten minutes when Arsenal’s style of possession football was played at a breathtaking rate of knots proving that entertainment and not just tedium can break an opponent just as easily.

Alexis Sanchez, twice, and Mezut Ozil destroyed United in that awful opening spell as Van Gaal’s defence were sliced up by a rampant home side.

It could have been worse. Arsenal overplayed it so much that they forgot how to finish while United only had an Anthony Martial shot to their credit.

Fourteen years ago United were 3-0 down in North London to Spurs and it a severe case of straw clutching you wondered if this side could repeat the brilliant recovery from Messrs Beckham, Van Nistelrooy, Blanc, Veron and Cole in 2001.

United did improve but such a turnaround is beyond this side. They improved the possession stats but there was no finish like at White Hart Lane all those years ago, the Manchester Evening News reports.

It left you shuddering where United might be when the final poser of October is asked and the examiner says, “Time up.”